Buccaneers Activate Antonio Brown Off Reserve/COVID-19 List

Antonio Brown will join Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski in returning to New England this week. The Buccaneers activated their high-profile No. 3 wide receiver Thursday.

A positive COVID-19 test landed Brown on the Bucs’ virus list ahead of their Week 3 Rams tilt. Brown is vaccinated, as the Bucs’ team rate hit 100%, making for a quicker return for the 12th-year veteran. Brown’s return comes shortly after the Bucs lost No. 4 wideout Scotty Miller to an injury, one that will keep him out a while.

Brown played in Week 1 for the first time since 2018 but has missed the past three Week 3s. The Patriots signed the mercurial receiver shortly after the Raiders cut him ahead of the 2019 season and used him in Week 2 of that year. But a report of Brown sending intimidating text messages to a woman who’d accused him of sexual misconduct led the Patriots to cut him after less than two weeks.

Brown, 33, will now return to Foxborough with fellow ex-Patriots Brady and Gronkowski, though Brown’s trip back to Massachusetts will be obviously overshadowed. This game will be Brown’s first against one of the three teams that parted ways with him in 2019. The Bucs do not play the Steelers or Raiders this season. Thanks to a strong season opener, Brown has six receptions for 138 yards and a touchdown this year.

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